In the field of outdoor enthusiast equipment, there are many different types of necessary equipment including knives, spark emitting devices, matches, lighters, flashlights, etc. The usefulness of these devices are obvious.
Typically the outdoor enthusiast carries matches or a lighter in which to start a fire. The enthusiast gathers different sized bundles of wood and a small amount of minute kindling matter. The kindling matter is generally bundled up and ignited. Gradually larger and larger pieces of wood are added to generate a fire.
One problem that often occurs is that the matches or lighter become wet and unusable since many outdoor enthusiast activities are planned about water borne structure such as lakes, rivers and the like. It is not uncommon to fall into such a structure while carrying the matches or the lighter thus rendering the same unusable. Still further, it oftentimes rains during such activities which invariably presents the same water destruction to the matches and lighter. Windy conditions also present match and lighter users problems of maintaining a flame after ignition.
One way to ensure that there is always access to a fire is to carry a spark emitting device such as a flint or other spark emitting device. The flint or spark emitting material is struck by a hard object and sparks are release which ignite the kindling matter. Thus, even if the flint or other spark emitting device becomes wet, it will still emit sparks sufficient to ignite kindling matter.
Another piece of outdoor equipment that is often used is a flashlight. However, flashlights are often bulky to carry and must be transported in a knapsack or other carrying device. Water again presents a problem to flashlights in that the battery case is often not completely watertight. Thus, water often enters the battery case and renders the electrodes inoperable.
A further problem with flashlights are that the batteries that are used to power the bulb do not have a long life. It is not uncommon for a flashlight to become unusable in the middle of an outdoor excursion due to the batteries becoming dead.